The life of a Human Sacrifice
by UchihaLord15
Summary: Naruto forsakes the village of Konoha and strikes out on his own. How will this affect the ninja world? NaruYugi.
1. Naruto has had enough

Uzumaki Naruto ducked into an alley quickly, weaving through the garbage cans and other nasty things littering the place. He had to be as quick as possible in order to ditch his ANBU 'guard'. He snorted derisively at that thought.

_Guard, yeah right. Jailer or watchman would be a better word, he's just making sure I don't get in trouble. They've never stopped me from getting hurt, just killed._ Ironically enough, the being he had to thank for his recent decision to leave this worthless village was the same being that was the source of all his trouble: the Kyuubi No Kitsune. The fox had been able to talk to him a few days ago when he was beaten nearly to the point of death. He was just lucky that ANBU with the dog mask had come by, even though he'd probably mistaken Naruto for some other seven year old. It would have been hard to recognize him with so much blood covering him.

The fox had revealed the village's greatest secret to him: The Yondaime Hokage had not killed the Kyuubi when it attacked Konoha, he had sealed it inside Naruto. Unfortunately, this led the villagers to believe that he was the Kyuubi reincarnate, which led to countless beatings, insults, and other humiliations. Once he knew the reason why everyone hated him, Naruto decided that there was no reason for him to stay here, the only thing he had ever wanted to do was become the Hokage and earn everyone's respect. He now realized that that goal was unattainable, the most he would ever be able to do was become a normal ninja, though the shinobi would more likely want to turn him into a weapon because of the Kyuubi's power that he would eventually be able to use.

So he was leaving Konoha. This was easier for him than for other people since he had no personal possessions to pack. Whenever he had gotten a personal possession, people had destroyed it. He had stolen some weapons from the shinobi equipment store and some food from the market, but that was it. It was all stuffed down his pockets. He was perfectly prepared to steal more food at the next town he came to.

He had no real destination in mind, just away from Konoha. First he had to get out of the Land of Fire, otherwise it would be all too easy for the leaf ninjas to track him down and bring him back.

He grinned when he glanced over his shoulder to find that his 'guard' was no longer following him. He never let his guard down though; he stayed hidden as carefully as possible, dodging through dark alleys and other places where people wouldn't see him, until he reached the gate. He had set this prank up a few days ago, but he hadn't had the chance to spring it. Luckily, no one had noticed the pyramid of oil cans on the sides of the two buildings closest to the gate. He found the string exactly where he had left it. With a grin, he grabbed it and pulled, yanking out a few carefully selected cans from each of the two pyramids. With those cans now missing, and spilling their contents all over the ground, the rest of the pyramid fell over, surprisingly neatly. Gallons of oil spilled out of them, getting all over everyone in the nearby street and gate. The normal sounds of people going about their daily business was replaced with yells and shrieks as everyone tried – and failed – to avoid the oil. With all the commotion, it wasn't a problem for Naruto to simply slip through the gate and run. Neither of the two Chunin guards saw him go.

XXXXXXX

Neko let out an exasperated sigh as he realized the boy had again escaped him. He was an _ANBU_ for crying out loud! How on earth could a seven year old brat slip away from him?! Oh well, all Neko had to do was sit down and wait for the shouts that would signify Naruto's latest prank. He had to admit, the boy's tricks were amusing, as long as they weren't directed at you. Most of the ANBU actually held a minor amount of respect for him since he was clearly quick witted and clever to be able to continually get away from them. None of them liked him in any way, except for Inu, though no one knew why, but they always did their job of protecting him. The few who hadn't had been quietly executed. Neko had been surprised the first time he saw Naruto being publicly abused and beaten, and he had quickly jumped in to stop it.

His train of thought was interrupted as he heard many people yelling. He looked up to see that it was coming from the gate. He used a shunshin to get there in an instant, finding himself in a street crowded with people who were covered in oil. Neko hid a sigh at the sight. The kid had really gone too far this time, his prank could have very well gotten someone important, which could have had serious repercussions for the village. He made a mental note to alert the Hokage of this, since Naruto didn't seem to listen to anyone else.

He began looking around, using his greater than normal senses to search for the kid. He was surprised when he couldn't find the boy after five minutes of searching, that was almost unheard of. He began searching in a greater radius, hoping the kid couldn't have gone too far.

XXXXXXX

Twenty minutes later Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, was interrupted as an ANBU with a cat mask _barged_ into his office. He jumped to his feet immediately, when such actions were taken, the only possibility was an emergency.

"I can't find Uzumaki Naruto," Neko blurted out. Sarutobi frowned.

"So? He often escapes from his guard."

"Hokage-sama, he escaped almost half an hour ago, and I have been unable to find him even with my tracking skills." That grabbed Sarutobi's attention immediately.

"Tell me everything that happened," He ordered. Neko gave him a quick oral report of everything that happened since he arrived for his shift. When he finished, Sarutobi was looking more stunned than Neko could ever remember, and his squad had been the one to tell him of the Kyuubi's approach.

"He's gone," Sarutobi said.

"I'm sorry?" Neko was confused.

"You said his trick with the oil happened right at the gate. I can only assume that he used the prank as a distraction to slip through the gate unnoticed and unhindered." Neko gaped at his own stupidity under his mask. It was so obvious once it was pointed out. "We will send out a squad of hunter nin to retrieve him and bring him back to Konoha unharmed. We'll need something with his scent for the Inuzukas to track him down." At that precise moment, there was a knock on the Hokage's still open door. The two men looked over to see a female Jonin with ruby red eyes standing there.

"Pardon me Hokage-sama, but there was a fire in one of the downtown apartments not too long ago. The firefighters just got it taken care of a few minutes ago, and they have confirmed that it was arson."

"I'm sorry Kurenai-san, but I fail to see the importance in such a thing." Sarutobi turned back to Neko only to freeze when he heard Kurenai's next sentence.

"The blaze started in Uzumaki Naruto's room." Sarutobi and Neko were both wondering what this might have to do with Naruto's escape from Konoha.

"He did it," Sarutobi announced. "Naruto burned his own apartment to get rid of anything he might have touched, so that the hunter nins would be unable to track him down."

"And he's seven?" Neko said in amazement. "Imagine what he'll be like when he grows up, if he can already plan ahead so well. The oil will have overpowered most of the scents at the gate, and that will also hinder the hunter nins."

"Incredible. I can only hope we're better." Sarutobi murmured.

XXXXXXX

That night, he was forced to admit that things looked grim. A few hours after his impromptu meeting with Neko and Kurenai, Inuzuka Tsume had marched into his office, stating that someone had apparently set up several large cans of oil in the Inuzuka dog pens while the dogs were having their morning run, and the oil had spilled all over the dogs when they returned. The whole clan had spent most of the day cleaning the oil out of their partners' fur.

Unfortunately, the stench of the oil would render the dogs' sense of smell even worse than a human's for a day or two, which gave Naruto an even bigger advantage over his pursuers. This all left Sarutobi in no doubt as to who had tricked the dogs.

He wondered what had changed the boy so drastically. The last time he had spoken with Naruto, the boy had still been talking about becoming Hokage, and outshining everyone in his class at the academy one day. Now, both those dreams were just about gone. The council had been furious that Naruto had been allowed to do such 'atrocities'. Sarutobi had had to repress a snort of laughter when heard that word. What Naruto had done was nothing compared to what he had suffered at the hands of the villagers. No doubt that harsh treatment had been a factor in pushing Naruto off the edge. But there must have been something else in addition to that, something big. But for the life of him, Sarutobi couldn't imagine what it might have been.

He had a very bad feeling about the whole situation though.

XXXXXXX

Two weeks later

Naruto sighed as he leaned against the tree and waited. He was in the forest, avoiding his former village's hunter nins. He was sure that they knew he was there, but that they didn't know that he knew that they knew he was there. In other words, he was waiting for them. When he had talked to the Kyuubi and decided to leave, he had asked what he should do if Konoha ever sent ninja after him. The fox had given him his answer, and Naruto was very satisfied with it.

He looked up as four shinobi wearing various outfits jumped down in front of him. They all looked as relaxed as you please, arms swinging loosely by their sides, no tension anywhere in their body. He was glad, that would make things much easier.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you have committed the crimes of abandoning your village and assaulting your fellow villagers. You will be brought back to Konoha to stand trial for your crimes," Their leader said. Naruto almost burst into laughter, he sounded as if he expected Naruto to go along with him like any other little kid. He settled for snorting loudly then spreading his arms wide and saying,

"Why don't you make me?" The leader rolled his eyes and marched forward. He didn't notice the glint in Naruto's eye as the boy stood there, perfectly calm and undisturbed.

Naruto watched as the hunter nin stepped on the wire he had set up in front of himself. With barely a whisper, a dozen kunai knives shot out of the trees to their right. The hunter nin barely had time to turn and look at them before he was stabbed in his chest, legs, and head. He keeled over without a sound as blood poured from the many wounds. Naruto smirked at the expression on the other hunter nin's faces.

"Now then, let me clarify a few things," He told them. "I did not abandon my village, I ran away from the place that refused to treat me with a shred of respect because of something that was completely outside of my control. I left a village of losers who would have continued to humiliate me until they needed the power of the Kyuubi, at which point they would have ordered me to do what they wanted. And as for assaulting my fellow villagers? I got some oil on a bunch of people, some of whom probably hit me at least once in my life, and some dogs who just happened to be too good to be left alone. Nothing I did was lethal or even truly dangerous. But you idiots think you can order me back there for doing nothing wrong at all. If some other seven year old ran away from an abusive parent, you would readily help him. What's the difference here?" He waited smugly as the hunter nins exchanged glances.

"Now then, let's finish this up, shall we?" with his foot he kicked a kunai out of the ground behind him, letting loose a wire that had been tied to it. In an instant, the clearing was filled with kunai coming from all different directions. The only safe spot was where Naruto was standing. He saw one of the hunter nins leap up in time to avoid the trap, while the other two were killed by the dozens of kunai. Naruto had taken the opportunity to stock up on weapons after he left Konoha. The last enemy stood in a tall tree, looking down at his three comrades' bodies with shock evident on his face. After all, they were all Chunin or Jonin, and they had been killed by a seven year old.

"I won't fall for any more of your traps, boy." He called down to Naruto. "I just have to kill you from a distance."

"You've already fallen for my trap," Naruto told him. The man looked around quickly, expecting another batch of kunai to come out of nowhere. Naruto laughed. "You idiot, you fell for my trap the second you walked into the clearing." With that said, he made a simple ram seal and focused. A roaring sound like rushing water filled his ears as he felt strength flooding through his body. The hunter nin gasped as the boy's chakra shot up at an unbelievable rate. A red aura began to surround the boy as he watched. After a few moments, Naruto was surrounded by a fiery red glow, his whisker scars had thickened, and his eyes had turned red with slitted pupils. His chakra felt vile and evil; it was the chakra of the Kyuubi. Before Inuzuka Shikon could blink, his foe crossed the distance between them and sank a frightfully powerful fist into his stomach. The elite hunter nin was sent flying backward, crashing into a tree branch. Naruto didn't let up for a second, raining down several dozen more blows in quick succession. His partner tried to attack in the middle of this barrage, only to be swatted aside by Naruto as if he were no more than an annoyance.

In thirty seconds, Naruto was standing over the man, who was bruised and bloody all over. He looked down at the man with those merciless red eyes.

"The instant you came to take me back to that accursed village, you signed your death warrants." Naruto took a kunai out of his pocket and, without any hesitation, threw it down, stabbing the man in the throat. Inuzuka Shikon died with a gurgling cry. He turned around and threw another kunai at the dog, killing him the same way.

Naruto wasted no time going through their corpses for anything useful. He collected a large number of kunai and shuriken, as well as some soldier pills, ninja wire, and other useful tools. The last thing he did was gather their bodies together along with some dry wood, then light a few matches and toss them on the pile. He walked away calmly as their bodies began to burn. The fire soon spread, catching on the trees and causing a forest fire. By the time it was all put out, Naruto was long gone.

XXXXXXX

That night he closed his eyes and focused, descending into his mindspace.

"That was pathetic," He remarked. "They were idiots, they never expected me to be able to touch them. It was no problem to catch them off guard and get rid of them."

"**You seem to have quite the dark side to you,"** Kyuubi rumbled from behind his cage. **"Much more so than I expected, especially to go corpse robbing without even blinking."**

"They're my enemies, I have no remorse for them. Don't tell me you do?" Kyuubi snorted at his container's rhetorical question.

"**In any case, the next group will be much more cautious. You should practice using my chakra more in preparation. That idiot with the dog was caught by surprise because of your speed, and his dog was frantic. You won't get that lucky next time." **Naruto nodded, he agreed with that completely.

"I'll probably have to kill a lot more than that before they finally get smart and stop sending them after me."

"**True. Given how stupid those villagers can be, I'd give it a few years before you can stop worrying about hunter nins. You could defect to another village, they'd gladly shelter you."**

"Yeah, in exchange for becoming a weapon. There's no way I'll ever be part of a hidden village."

Merry Christmas! I hope my fans enjoy this new story.


	2. Kumogakure

One year later

Hyuga Hiashi sighed mentally as Koharu brought up the age old subject of Uzumaki Naruto. He did this at every meeting, demanding to know if there was any information about the 'demon brat'. Hiashi honestly wondered how true that nickname was. After all, he had apparently captured his daughter's heart without even trying, and between what Hinata said about him and his method of escaping from Konoha, Hiashi rather thought that Konoha had driven away a very promising shinobi in training, and person in general.

Not to mention that both teams of hunter nin that had encountered him met the same fate: death by unknown means, and then being burned to ashes. The boy was beginning to develop a style, especially since he always stole any useful items from their bodies before burning them. If Koharu and Homura continued to send hunter nin squads after him, they would either lose a lot of men or suffer insubordination from hunter nins who were unwilling to take the job.

Sarutobi reported that the last thing anyone had heard of someone matching Naruto's description came from a witness in Kusagakure. Koharu and Homura had the – also age old – tradition of demanding that a squad be sent after him. Sarutobi argued that Naruto would probably just kill them, so Koharu and Homura asked to be allowed to select the members of the squad. After some argument, Sarutobi was forced to give in, even though he knew he would be wasting time.

XXXXXXX

Naruto smirked when he read the sealed letter from his spy. Apparently they had taken the bait and were sending a squad to Kusagakure, the exact opposite direction from where he was. He was quite glad that he'd met Sasori. The Suna nukenin had happened to be close by when Naruto was fighting a squad of Konoha's hunter nins, and when Naruto was about to be beaten, he'd stepped in and killed the last remaining hunter.

Since the two of them had similar beliefs about hidden villages, Sasori had then been willing to give his fellow nukenin a little more help. Being from Sunagakure, he'd been able to give Naruto some wind jutsus to use in battle. He had also warned Naruto not to become reliant on Kyuubi's chakra, since many shinobi fell victim to the similar flaw of relying on their bloodline and are thus powerless when they meet an enemy who can counter those abilities. Sasori had also told him about the importance of information, and had taught him his sleeper jutsu, which changed anyone into an unknowing spy for the user. Naruto had used it on a Jonin from Konoha that he had come across, and he was now very glad. He didn't like the idea of it since it seemed rather cruel, but he still held plenty of resentment towards Konoha, and he couldn't deny its usefulness.

However, despite Sasori's usefulness and indeed friendliness, Naruto had declined the invitation to travel with him for more than two months, preferring secrecy through solitude. Besides, it would be pretty hard to travel with an S rank ninja and not become more well known.

He was headed for Kumogakure in order to hide more effectively. After all, he never went to a hidden village unless he had absolutely no choice, and that information coupled with the decoy would keep Konoha off his back for a while.

XXXXXXX

He had decided against using a Henge to hide his appearance, preferring to simply dye his hair and cover the scars on his face with makeup, a trick he had figured out soon after leaving Konoha. Indeed, Naruto's ability to travel undetected ranked very close to Jiraiya's, who was Konoha's elite spymaster. It was laughably easy to get into the village, all he had to do was stay close but not too close to a couple who was also entering the village, and the guards barely even glanced at him.

He had decided to live, not in Kumo itself, but in the mountains nearby. He did go to the market to buy some more food, he had learned early on how to tell which people wouldn't care how old their customer was as long as he had money. He was doing just fine with weapons, he had enough for – and from - several shinobi squads sealed into a scroll in his backpack. Sasori had also taught him the basics of sealing while they were together, since it made prolonged travel infinitely easier.

After buying food he set off down one of the hiking trails, turning off the marked path once he was out of sight of Kumo. He searched for several hours, eventually finding a decent cave that had no other inhabitants and was also fairly dry. He made himself busy setting up camp there.

He had learned early on that it was best to always have something to do, or else he would get eaten up by the loneliness and pain that was his life. It also didn't let him think about the biggest question in his whole stinking life: Why? Why was he alive? Everyone hated him, no one would want him around once they knew what he was, so what was the point of being alive? To be a thorn in the side of Konoha? There must be something better than that. To get revenge on Konoha for everything he had suffered as a child? Again, there must be something better. Revenge wouldn't satisfy him or make him happy. After the first few attacks, he came to realize that killing the hunter nins was an unavoidable duty, not a means to seek revenge on his former village. He never felt happy when he saw their corpses, even when he remembered the humiliation he had suffered as a child. He just felt… hollow. Empty. Like something was missing from him, something that he couldn't replace. He just didn't understand it.

He sighed as he finished unpacking. It looked like he needed something new to distract himself. He took a hike through the mountains, using chakra to climb without worrying about falling. After a half an hour of walking aimlessly, he squeezed through a crack between two large cliffs and was met with the sight of an incredible valley, tucked away between two mountains and the two cliffs he had just squeezed through. There was a large lake in the middle of the valley, fed by a river that emerged from the side of a mountain. Surrounding the lake was a grassy field with flowers here and there, filling the air with multiple sweet scents that all mixed together to make a very pleasing aroma.

There was also a person down by the lake.

Naruto immediately ducked back into the crevice before the girl saw him. He made sure he was well hidden before looking back at her. Once he took a closer look at her, his breath was quite literally taken away. She had long blonde hair, lighter than his own, that she wore in a ponytail. Her face was unusually angular for someone who looked barely older than himself, but he liked the way it looked on her. When she looked up he could see that her eyes were slanted, cat like. Her skin was a medium tan color, he guessed she went outside about as much as she stayed inside, and from what he could see it looked smooth and flawless. She also had some smooth, lithe muscles in her arms, enough to make her look strong while retaining her feminism.

He wasn't sure what it was about her, or even what combination of things, but she looked amazing to him. He felt perfectly content to just sit in his hiding place and watch her. She walked around the valley, running her hands through the tall grass and the flowers, for what reason he couldn't guess. He continued watching as she went to the lake and knelt down at the side of it. He suddenly realized that she held herself carefully, as if she was always expecting to have to fight. As she crouched down next to the water she looked rather catlike. She dipped her hand in the water, swirling it around a bit as her eyes examined the ripples made by her actions. It reminded him of himself, always looking for something to distract himself. She then stood up and did something that took him completely by surprise.

She took off her shirt.

Up until now Naruto hadn't made a single noise, making it nearly impossible for anyone to know he was there, but upon seeing her naked torso – luckily for her but unluckily for Naruto she hadn't begun to mature yet - he couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

The girl heard this immediately. Her head snapped up to the source of the sound and she saw Naruto's face in the crevice. Her face went red as she yanked her shirt back on and began running to where he was hiding, yelling something that he couldn't hear. Having no desire to feel her wrath, Naruto retreated, wriggling backward through the crevice as fast as possible.

That wasn't very fast.

_Aw hell, she's fast and I can't move very quickly!_ He realized. He began wriggling with a renewed desperation, and she had only just reached the crevice when Naruto came free on the other side. He turned and ran as fast as possible, heading in a direction that didn't lead to his cave, just to be on the safe side.

He got past the first hill before glancing back in time to see the blond girl get out of the crevice and come running after him.

_Oh crap!_ He thought. He ran as fast as possible, but a minute or so later he heard a whizzing noise. He recognized it for what it was in time to jump to the side and dodge the kunai she had thrown at him. He heard another kunai coming for him, so he pulled his own kunai out of a holster on his right hip and spun around, blocking her projectile. She came to a halt about ten feet away from him, holding a kunai in each hand and glaring angrily at him. He moved into a defensive position, regarding her warily. She was breathing a little more heavily than normal, but aside from that she seemed perfectly able and ready to fight him.

"Who are you and why were you spying on me?" She snapped at him.

"My name's Naruto," He told her in a calm voice. "I was just taking a walk through the mountains when I found that valley, and I was watching you because you were just kind of captivating." The girl scowled.

"Who exactly are you?" She asked. "You look like you're my age, but you're just casually taking a walk through these mountains, and then you're almost as fast as me. What kind of training have you had?"

"I only had official training for two months, the rest of the time I was just surviving. I've been traveling all across the elemental nations, trying to avoid the hunter nins."

"You're a nukenin?" Naruto snorted.

"No, you can't be a nukenin if you were never a ninja to begin with. The village probably found some other reason to bring me back."

"You don't like your village." It wasn't a question. Naruto snorted again.

"Does it show?" He asked rhetorically. "Konoha's a piece of crap, I don't understand why they're still around the way they treat people." The girl smirked.

"You don't know what a bad treatment is, boy. I've never had one person ever be nice to me, or even offer me as much as a smile. My whole life has been spent training to become an ANBU, I've never had any freedom at all." Naruto snorted yet again.

"I guess being beaten almost to death every other week by the villagers while no one does anything to help you until the last possible second doesn't compare then, does it?" He retorted. She blinked in surprise. "Oh yeah, and having all but three of the people in the village either ignore you, glare at you hatefully, spit at you, insult you, or attack you, that's so much better than your life. Sorry, I guess I just don't know what bad treatment is." She looked down at the ground, embarrassed. "Oh, and I forgot to mention that all that happened because of something that was completely out of my control." She winced.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean to insult you, Naruto-san." Naruto shrugged. "Um, do you mind if I ask what happened that was out of your control?" She asked curiously as she looked him in the eye. Those cerulean blue eyes of his were remarkable, she thought to herself, she felt like she could just drown in them. Naruto's voice snapped her out of that train of thought.

"You can ask, but I won't answer. If you knew you would treat me the same way or worse than those villagers."

"I would not!" She yelled at him, furious that he would suggest she was capable of such a thing. "I know what it's like to suffer unfairly, I wouldn't want to add to your suffering." Naruto snorted again; she was really starting to dislike that sound.

"What do you know about suffering? From what you said it sounds like you've led a spoiled life, getting training to be an ANBU."

"So what? Training doesn't replace family or friends." Naruto heard the sorrow and pain in her voice as she said that last sentence and he immediately regretted his words.

_She sounds like I feel_ he realized. He walked forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I know what that's like too. The old man was the only person to ever be nice to me, and he was never able to do anything about what happened to me. I know what it's like to feel completely alone."

She looked in his eyes again and they each saw themselves in each other's eyes, the same feelings and questions exactly. The girl took a step forward and wrapped her arms around Naruto, feeling him hug her back. They stood there in their embrace for a while, enjoying the warmth and the feeling of having someone who understood them.

After some time they let go of each other and stepped back.

"So, what's your name?" Naruto asked her.

"Nii Yugito," she answered. He gave her a big goofy grin.

"It's good to meet you Yugito-chan. My full name is Uzumaki Naruto," He added. She smiled back at him. "Now then, about my abilities and the reason everyone hated me, I have to swear you to secrecy first." Yugito nodded.

"No need to worry, I can keep a secret." He swallowed then blurted out,

"I have a demon in me." She gaped at him in shock. He was quick to notice this and immediately worried about the implications. "D-do you hate me now?" He asked in a small voice as he looked at the ground. Yugito actually laughed.

"No, of course not! I'm just surprised because, well, so do I." She admitted. His head snapped up as he gave her the same look she had given him. "I had the Nibi No Nekomata sealed in me when I was born so I could become Kumo's greatest shinobi," She elaborated. "That's why they've been training me." He nodded slowly.

"I was born the day the Kyuubi No Kitsune attacked Konoha, and the Yondaime Hokage sealed it in me to protect the village," He told her. "I never had training, in fact the teachers at the academy went out of their way to _not _teach me anything useful. I barely got the basics, the only reason I've killed two hunter nin squads is because I'm good with traps and I have good detection skills. I pulled a lot of pranks in the village before leaving, so I know how to plan ahead. Also, the fox lets me borrow some of his chakra to defend myself, since I'm defending him at the same time." She chuckled.

"So you're using his situation against him to survive?"

"Hey, if it weren't for him I wouldn't need to survive." Yugito nodded her agreement.

"So, when did you leave? And how old are you?"

"I left over a year ago, and I'm eight years old right now. How old are you?"

"I'm nine," she answered. He hesitated then said,

"I'm a little curious, can I take a look at your seal to see if it's the same as mine?" She frowned.

"My seal is on my stomach, I'm not taking my shirt off in front of you again," she said sharply.

"You just have to lift it up, I just want to take a look. I'm interested in Fuuinjutsu, so I want to know as much as I can about it." Yugito shook her head firmly.

"Sorry Naruto-san, I'm not going to show it to you."

"Oh come on, just one little peek? It'll only take, like, twenty seconds." She shook her head again. "What if I showed you mine?" She hesitated, she would be lying if she said she wasn't curious. She sighed, then shrugged. He was right, she just had to lift her shirt up to expose her stomach and then make some chakra.

"All right, fine." He nodded happily, then pulled off his shirt. She couldn't help but notice that this kid, who was younger than her, also had muscles. He made a ram sign to focus some chakra and she knelt down to see a spiral shape surrounded by other symbols appear around his navel. She traced a finger around the spiral as she tried to remember if she knew any of the kanji on his seal. Naruto jerked away from her unexpectedly.

"Don't touch me there," He told her in response to her raised eyebrows. Yugito grinned.

"What's the matter, you ticklish?" He gritted his teeth and didn't answer her. The cat girl's grin got bigger. Before Naruto had the chance to get worried, she pounced, knocking him to the ground and tickling him remorselessly. He giggled and laughed uncontrollably as they rolled around a bit on the ground. She only tortured him for a few minutes before letting him go. The boy got away from her quickly.

"That was mean," He told her.

"Yeah, but it was funny too." He shot her a look and she laughed.

"Okay, let me take a look." She lifted her shirt up to show her stomach, then made some chakra, causing her seal to appear on her stomach. Naruto pulled out a scroll and a pen, quickly copying the design of the seal onto the scroll.

"Like I said, I'm interested in Fuuinjutsu, so I want to figure out exactly how our seals work. The only thing I know about mine is that the spiral is the main seal, and the symbols surrounding it are just adjusting its' power, but I don't know how." She nodded understandingly; she had often wondered just how her seal worked. It appeared to be eight separate flame marks arranged in a circle, with the kanji for 'seal' inside each flame, and lines of kanji connecting them, with a thick circle of kanji inside the circle of flame marks.

Naruto frowned as he examined her seal again. He thought it looked familiar for some reason, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it. Yugito suddenly yanked her shirt back down, hiding the seal.

"Don't stare like that, it's rude," she snapped at him. Normally Naruto would have retorted that he never cared about what was proper or not, but for some reason he didn't want to upset Yugito. He assumed it was because they were both Jinchuriki.

"Sorry," he apologized as he stepped back. There was an awkward silence for a moment as they both stood there. Yugito decided to break it.

"So, Naruto, what have you been doing since you left Konoha?"

"Just surviving. I've been running all over the elemental nations to try to lose the hunter nins, but nothing works forever. I tried going to the land of iron, but their samurai wouldn't let me in. It's been really boring lately, especially after Sasori-san left. Maybe I should have stayed with him… well now it's too late." He grumbled to himself.

"Who's Sasori-san?" She asked him.

"Oh, he's a nukenin from Suna, he and I think the same way about hidden villages so he taught me some things to help me out. He's just kind of hard to trust, he's a puppet master so you can't help but be cautious around him. He did teach me some good stuff though, I probably wouldn't be here if I hadn't met him."

"What kind of stuff did he teach you?"

"Oh, some jutsus, some chakra control exercises, and some basic Fuuinjutsu. Hey, what kind of training have you had?"

They spent over an hour talking to each other, getting to know each other. But after a while, Yugito realized that the sun was going down.

"I have to go back, Naruto-kun. I'm only allowed so much free time after training, then I have to return."

"Will you be here tomorrow?" Naruto asked eagerly. Yugito nodded.

"I come here every day after training, so I'll see you tomorrow." Her cat like eyes narrowed. "And you had better not be spying on me again, or I'll make you regret it." Naruto paled a little bit.

"Don't worry Yugito-chan, I'll be in plain sight tomorrow, I promise." She grinned and hugged him goodbye. He hugged her back, enjoying the warmth.

"See you tomorrow," She called over her shoulder as she walked away.

"Okay!" Naruto grinned happily as she left.

XXXXXXX

Three weeks later

"What do you mean you couldn't find him!?" Koharu yelled. The hunter nins glared at him angrily.

"What do you think we mean? We couldn't find him! He wasn't there!" Their leader yelled back.

"Both of you be quiet," Sarutobi commanded. "Only one of two things could have happened if he wasn't there, either it was a decoy, or he left before you got there. Either way, we have wasted time and money on yet another fruitless mission, Koharu. Do you agree yet that attempting to bring back Naruto is a waste of time?" His advisor frowned.

"If we leave him out there he could grow strong, and he might one day return to seek revenge on Konoha. Even if the hunter nins do not bring him back, it still forces him to keep moving and worrying, and allows him to spend less time getting strong."

"We wouldn't need to worry about this if people like you hadn't forced him to run!" Inuzuka Tsume snapped angrily. "I saw the villagers' attitude toward him once, and I'd bet my whole clan fortune that you would have treated him the same way! You're suspicious of everyone, even a seven year old boy who had done nothing wrong! And after you forced him out, then you have the nerve to brand him a criminal and try to bring him back here! I've put up with this for a long time, but not anymore. And you had better count yourselves lucky that I prefer living in this village instead of going somewhere else, because otherwise I'd be long gone!" With that said, she stood up and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

A great number of the council members were now glaring at Koharu and Homura, who looked at the ground nervously. With a final glare, the hunter nin squad left.

"I am afraid that's all for the meeting today," Sarutobi announced. "You are all dismissed except for Koharu and Homura, I need to talk to you in private." Once everyone had filed out, Sarutobi turned to his former teammates.

"Tsume-sama was correct, Naruto did nothing wrong. I have allowed you to continue sending squads after him in the hopes that he would be brought back, but after a whole year with no results other than eight dead men, I have decided that we should no longer waste our time. Naruto shall no longer be a nukenin, which I always thought was absurd given that he was never a ninja, he shall be a runaway. We will issue a warning about him so our squads will judge carefully whether or not to attack should they encounter him." Koharu and Homura were gaping in shock.

"We must get him back or at least kill him!" Koharu exclaimed. "He is a threat to –"

"Shut up!" Sarutobi snapped at him. "I am Hokage, I decide what will happen regarding the boy. And for refusing to accept the word of your leader and former teammate, you two shall no longer be allowed to sit in on council meetings. That is all, you are dismissed."

XXXXXXX

Two months later

Naruto grinned as Yugito arrived at the valley.

"Hey, Yugito-chan!" He waved happily. "How was your training?"

"It was good," She replied. "But I'm really tired. Look the other way," she ordered. He closed his eyes and turned away from her as she took off her clothes and stepped into the lake, shivering as the cold water enveloped her. "Okay," she told him. Once she was in the water, Naruto couldn't see anything in good enough detail to matter. "I did another tracking exercise today, which was really boring. I mean, honestly, they should know that I don't need to practice that stuff anymore." Naruto nodded his agreement. Yugito had been tracking people for over a year, and was one of Kumo's most promising future hunter nins. "I really want to learn another jutsu, but they said I have to stick to the curriculum." She rolled her eyes. "They're so irritating sometimes you know?" Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Sasori-san really got on my case when I was complaining about learning Fuuinjutsu instead of Ninjutsu." They fell into a comfortable silence as Yugito swam around the lake a little bit.

"Close your eyes again," She ordered him. He did so as she got out and dried off before putting her clothes back on. When she was decent again, she walked over to him and hugged him tightly. Over the past two months they had become best friends, both of them looking forward to this time together. For the first time ever, they had someone who they could talk to who would understand them. They didn't keep secrets from each other at all, both of them knew everything about the other.

Naruto turned around and returned her hug. He had hit a growth spurt recently, and was only a couple inches shorter than her now. They lay down in the grass together, Yugito resting her head on Naruto's chest as his arm curled around her shoulders.

"Have you learned much from those scrolls?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I've got some more Fuuton tricks now, and I've been looking through the scrolls on Fuuinjutsu lately, it's pretty interesting. Thanks for getting them, I'll have to thank Kirabi someday too."

Flashback No Jutsu

Yugito sat down next to Hachibi No Kirabi, Kumogakure's other Jinchuriki, the host of the eight tailed ushi-oni. He was five years older than her, and was already high Chunin – he would probably become Jonin in a few years – he was quickly mastering one of the most bizarre fighting styles ever seen in Kumo, and he could control up to three tails of his Biju's chakra. She could control her Biju's full power, but the Nibi only had two tails, so it wasn't really a fair comparison.

In any case, that wasn't why she was here, she was here because she wanted to talk to Kirabi in private. She had told her instructors that she wanted to talk to a Jinchuriki because she had some questions that only someone like her could answer. Not wanting her to get problematic in the future, they had arranged a meeting between the two of them. They had even made sure no one could overhear the two of them.

"Hello, Yugito-san," Kirabi greeted her. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Kirabi-san," She answered. "How about you?"

"I'm good. So, what kind of questions do you have for me?" Yugito smirked.

"That was just a way to get to talk to you. I need to ask you to keep a secret." Kirabi grinned, this was sounding good already.

"Sure, this sounds like fun."

"I've met another Jinchuriki. He's a nukenin, he's living in the mountains and he came across me during my free time." Kirabi's eyebrows shot up. Another Jinchuriki was certainly intriguing news.

"I see. So, what do you and he want me to do?"

"There's two things. First off, he's leaving as soon as the hunter nins find him, though it could be months because he sent out a decoy to Kusa and he never goes to hidden villages unless it's absolutely necessary." Kirabi nodded approvingly; this person was smart. "So, he wants me to leave with him." Kirabi straightened up and looked over at her in surprise.

"Are you going to?"

"I haven't decided yet. He wants to extend the same invitation to you though." Kirabi thought about it, then shook his head.

"Nope, I'd never be able to get away. I'm too noticeable and have too many duties. I won't report you though, so there's no need to worry." Yugito let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank you. I thought I could trust you because you're also a Jinchuriki. The other thing Naruto wanted to know was if there was any way you knew of that he could get some jutsu scrolls." Kirabi thought about it for a moment.

"Well, there's no way for him to come in here and steal them, but I could steal them, copy them, return them, and then have you pass the copies on to him." Yugito raised her eyebrows.

"Would you do that?" She asked a little bit incredulously. He nodded.

"The village would get to keep the scrolls anyway, and I'll be helping out two of my fellow Jinchuriki. No problems anywhere in that little scenario." She smiled gratefully.

"Thank you, that would be great."

"No problem. I'll set up another little meeting like this when I'm done. Is that it?" She nodded as she stood up.

"Thank you, Kirabi-san," She bowed to him. He grinned as he stood up.

"You're welcome, Yugito-san. I'll see you later."

XXXXXXX (A/N: Yes, I'm aware that Kirabi is not rapping. He'll do that later in the story, if he comes along again, but it doesn't make sense that he would have started doing that at such a young age.)

Over the course of the next few weeks, there were multiple reports of important jutsu scrolls missing. Oddly enough – to everyone but the three Jinchuriki – the scrolls were usually found a few days after they went missing, in various shinobi's rooms. No one noticed that they were all people who had been mean to Kirabi because of his unique status and ability. About a month after that first meeting, Yugito was informed that Kirabi wanted to talk to her again.

"Here you go," He said, discreetly handing her a small scroll. She raised an eyebrow at it. "It has about two dozen other scrolls sealed inside it, there's no need to worry." She pocketed the scroll.

"Thank you."

"Hey, it was fun," He said, waving away her thanks. She raised an eyebrow at him now.

"Stealing the Raikage's most important Fuuinjutsu scroll was fun? Even though he's your older brother's sensei?" She asked him. He nodded, chuckling.

"Yeah, nothing stops the Killer Bee from getting what he wants!" He declared. He had taken to using the nickname Killer Bee lately. She just chuckled and shook her head.

"Well, that is a good thing to know," She told him. "Thank you very much." He grinned at her.

"No problem, Yugito-san."

They had parted ways with no one the wiser, and Yugito had given Naruto the scroll the day after that.

End Flashback No Jutsu

"I really hope the hunter nins stay stupid so I can stay here longer," Naruto commented. "This is so much easier than living on the run, constantly looking over my shoulder and trying to hide." Yugito nodded her agreement. "You know you don't have to come with me," He added. "You'll have to deal with hunters too, and I can't guarantee you'll be safe."

"I can take care of myself, baka," Yugito retorted, though she thought it was nice of him to worry so much about her.

They spent the rest of the day there, just enjoying each other's company until Yugito had to return to Kumo. Naruto returned to his cave and spent a few hours going over the Fuuinjutsu scroll. He was really eager to learn how his and Yugito's seals worked.

XXXXXXX

Two weeks later

Danzo looked at the three best hunter nins in the Foundation.

"You know what your mission is," he told them. "Go, and do not fail." They nodded and vanished simultaneously. Danzo turned to look out his window at the village. The Kyuubi would die one way or another, for the safety of Konohagakure.

XXXXXXX

One week later

Naruto was in Kumo, stocking up on food again. Thanks to the preservative abilities of seals, he could seal food away and eat it months later, so he had only come to the market once before this. As he was heading back to the mountain trail, his stomach rumbled. Surely there was a ramen stand somewhere near here…

Naruto got directions to the nearest ramen stand and was just about to enter when he saw something that chilled his blood: Three shinobi wearing leaf headbands, being led down the street by a dark skinned man. Ramen would have to wait; Naruto slipped into a nearby crowd, using a henge to hide the color of his hair, and the scars on his cheeks. In just a few minutes he made it to the trail and ran to his cave as fast as possible.

XXXXXXX

The Foundation members had been greeted at the gate by the Sandaime Raikage's dark skinned apprentice about half an hour earlier.

"Greetings," The man bowed to them. "I am E, the apprentice of the Sandaime Raikage. I will escort you to my sensei so you may talk to him personally about this runaway."

"Thank you," Said an ANBU with a hawk mask. The three leaf nins followed E through Kumo to the Tower of Lightning, never noticing the blond jinchuriki they were searching for. When they arrived they were immediately sent into the Raikage's office. The tall man was starting to show gray in his hair and beard, but he was still a fearsome shinobi.

"All right, all the message said was that you're searching for a runaway from your village and you believe him to be in or near Kumo, I need more details about this runaway before I decide whether or not to let you have free rein. Oh, and tell me your names while you're at it." The man in the hawk mask stepped forward.

"Very well Raikage-sama. I am Taka, my companions are Wani," he gestured at the man to his right, who was wearing a crocodile mask, "and Sasori." He gestured to the man on his left, who wore an unusual mask in the shape of a scorpion. "The boy we are seeking is a threat to Konoha, he stole a weapon of great power before leaving, and he has used this weapon to kill all the hunter nin squads that were sent after him, so we have been selected to find this boy and make him pay for his crimes." The Raikage and his apprentice both raised their eyebrows as soon as Taka said 'boy'.

"How old is he?" E asked.

"Eight," was Taka's answer. The Raikage snorted.

"This was amusing, but I do not believe that an eight year old, no matter what weapon he carries, could kill full fledged shinobi. Tell me the truth."

"That is the truth, he is eight years old." The Raikage frowned. He knew how to read body language, and from what he could tell Taka was telling the truth.

"Very well, I'll accept that for now. What does he look like?" At this point, Sasori stepped forward, taking out a picture of Naruto which he slid over. Raikage looked at the boy, who had been around seven at the time the photo was taken. He had golden blond hair and cerulean eyes. If it weren't for the three whisker like scars on each cheek and the sullen scowl(Naruto did not like getting his picture taken), Raikage would have thought he was looking at a picture of Konoha's Yellow Flash as a child. "What is his name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Very well, I shall have two of my secretaries check all possible records for that name. In the meantime, you may discreetly search for him among the streets. Or if you are still tired from your trip, we have quarters prepared for you where you can take a rest."

"I believe it would be good to rest before seeking him out, we need to be as strong as possible for when we face him."

"E, show them to their quarters. Oh, by the way, do you have anything with his scent? We have some very good hunter nins who can find him no matter what if they have his scent." Taka shook his head.

"Upon escaping from Konoha he burned everything he had ever touched in order to prevent us from doing exactly that, and he always burns the corpses of those he kills, so we have never been able to track him by smell."

"Very well." Raikage waved them out the door.

XXXXXXXX

Once they arrived at their quarters, Sasori discreetly stepped behind the other two and wove a few hand signs. The other two jolted as the jutsu took effect.

"I trust you remember me?" He removed his mask as he spoke, revealing the face of a teenager with red hair and rather handsome features. Taka and Wani immediately bowed to him. "Very good, I need to go search for a contact of mine, alone, so you two just take a nap and wait for me. When I have returned I will help you with the mission to assassinate the Kyuubi." They nodded and turned to walk into the other room where the beds were. As soon as their backs were turned, a blade coated with poison slid silently out of the redhead's sleeve and he stabbed his companions in the back before they could react. They both dropped to the ground, shaking as the poison spread through their system. In a few moments they were completely paralyzed. Sasori slit their throats neatly, then sealed them inside a scroll that he took from his pouch. He donned his scorpion mask again and drew the curtains before leaving the room.

He stepped outside and quickly hid in an alley before closing his eyes and focusing. He was a little surprised to feel no hint of Naruto's chakra. _Well, he's pretty good at hiding when he wants to._ _The mountains would be the best place to look for him. _He swiftly departed, heading into the treacherous mountains.

XXXXXXXX

Naruto had quickly packed everything into scrolls, then sealed the scrolls into smaller scrolls, ending up with a single scroll that fit in his pocket which was carrying enough food to last him a month, several lamps and candles, lamp oil, matches, weapons, jutsu scrolls, and other useful things for anyone wanting to live on the run. He was now standing atop one of the cliffs that hid his and Yugito's valley, waiting for her. He didn't want to go down into the valley proper in case they had forced Yugito to talk somehow. He breathed a huge sigh of relief when she walked in through the two mountains. He ran down the side of the cliff and hurried to her as fast as possible.

"Hey, Naruto-kun!" She called. She blinked when he didn't return her greeting.

"Yugito-chan, they've come."

"What?" She looked at him questioningly.

"Konoha sent ANBU after me. I saw them in the village today. I already have all my things packed, can you leave with me now?" Yugito was taken aback at the suddenness of his request.

"My equipment is still in my room, can we leave tomorrow?"

"That might be too late!" He snapped at her on accident. "I have to leave before they find me, if I use Kyuubi's chakra to kill them, every cloud nin will come down on me. I have to leave before that happens!"

"Naruto-kun, we can wait at least a day can't we?"

"You could go steal your equipment out of your room and come meet me here," He suggested. She shook her head.

"They would get suspicious if I returned early only to immediately leave again, that won't work." She saw the desperation on his face.

"Yugito-chan, please! I don't want to leave without you! You're my best friend, I can't live alone again, you know what that's like! If I have to go through that again, I'll go insane. Please, I have equipment. I have everything you'll need."

"Except for my sword and my mother's necklace," she retorted. "I have to get the necklace at least, I can't leave it behind. I _won't_ leave it behind," she said with authority. Naruto was about to yell in frustration when he felt a chakra source behind him. He spun around, ready to fight for his life… only to come face to face with Akasuna No Sasori. He jumped in shock, amazed at how close the puppet master had gotten.

"Sasori-san!" He gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"How did you do that?" Yugito wondered. Sasori smiled.

"It's just a simple shunshin. I'm here because one of my Konoha spies told me that Danzo sent a squad of his Foundation ANBU to assassinate you."

"Foundation ANBU?" Naruto inquired.

"Danzo once competed with Sarutobi Hiruzen over the title of Sandaime Hokage. He is a war hawk, and was once the leader of a training division within the normal ANBU, known as the Foundation. It is designed to erase the emotions of those within it. The Foundation was officially dissolved years ago, but many of its old members are still loyal to Danzo. Luckily, one of them is my spy. I assassinated one of the members of the squad and used my sleeper jutsu on the other two. After reporting to the Raikage and explaining our mission in more detail, I assassinated those two and came to look for you." Naruto blinked several times, trying to process all that information.

"Can you shorten it?" The blond boy asked. Sasori chuckled, Naruto really hadn't changed.

"Three ANBU came to kill you, I intercepted them and killed them first, now I'm here to help you get out of here before Kumo becomes suspicious and finds you." Naruto nodded.

"Okay, got it. Do you think they'll start searching today?" Sasori frowned.

"Hard to tell, Raikage was amused when he heard you were only a child, he was told you stole a powerful weapon, not that you're a Jinchuriki. He might not think too much about it until the ANBU fail to report tomorrow. Then again, he might get suspicious if they don't go back today, in which case they'll start searching tonight."

"I'd rather be cautious then dead," Naruto mused. "Is there any way you can help Yugito-chan get her stuff?" Sasori nodded.

"It's known as a 'diversion', it's fairly useful." Naruto and Yugito both sweatdropped. "Basic idea of it is: I go ballistic with my Hitokugutsu while you slip in quietly, get through all the chaos to your room, grab your stuff, and leave with Naruto while I make my own escape." Yugito and Naruto looked at each other and nodded. Sasori raised an eyebrow at this, but decided not to comment. "Very well. You two, get as close to the building as possible without being caught." He made a hand sign and created a Kage Bunshin. "When you're in position, hit him and I'll know that you're ready. As soon as you hear the commotion, go as fast as you can, in and out. Understand?" The two young Jinchuriki nodded. "Okay, go." Yugito took the lead as she and Naruto headed out of the valley. Sasori wore a small smile as he shunshinned away. This venture would give him a variety of new corpses for his collection.

XXXXXXX

Yugito picked out a spot for them to hide. It was a few miles away from the ANBU headquarters where she lived. Once she and Naruto were ready, Naruto punched Sasori's Kage Bunshin. It disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Sasori-san doesn't like to wait or keep people waiting, so it won't take long before we can go," Naruto told Yugito. Sure enough, less than thirty seconds later, they heard an explosion on the other side of the headquarters. Immediately, shinobi began pouring out of the various buildings carved out of the small mountain. All the top ranked cloud nins lived in these buildings, so Sasori's diversion wouldn't last long. As soon as they saw people running to the location of the explosion, the two jinchuriki bolted. Yugito led the way again, easily finding her way through the confusingly identical hallways.

XXXXXXX

Sasori had switched puppet bodies before he attacked, in order to hide his identity. He currently had a huge body and was carrying a massive sword on his back. He wasn't using it though, preferring to use his most powerful jutsu: Aka Higi: Hyakki no Soen (Secret Red Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets). He had simply opened a compartment within this body and emitted a hundred chakra strings from within it, using them to control a hundred of his other puppets. He had immediately launched several kunai with explosive notes before sending the puppets down in several wide waves, attacking with all sorts of weapons. He was quite pleased to see that, even though his puppets were being destroyed, the cloud ninjas were losing more than he was. Unfortunately, he could see a large force of Jonin heading up the mountain to assist the ANBU forces.

_I'll keep this up for another three minutes, then I'll grab what I can and leave_ He decided. He had some fun using extra chakra strings to pick up some of the cloud ninja corpses and use them to attack their still living fellows.

XXXXXXX

Naruto was keeping watch by the door while Yugito dug through her dresser to find her necklace.

"They don't know I have it, and I don't think they would let me keep it," She said apologetically. "So I had to hide it pretty well."

"That's fine, just hurry up," Naruto urged her. Her face lit up as she felt it. She pulled it out from under her clothes and held it up with a smile.

"Got it!" She announced. Naruto looked it with interest. It had a small rectangular crystal on a string, in between two smaller circular crystals. Yugito hurriedly tried to put it on, but her fingers kept slipping. Naruto sighed as he hurried over to her. He took the string from her hands and quickly tied it around her neck. "Thanks," She murmured softly. She was trying very hard not to blush as his fingers inadvertently brushed against the back of her neck, sending goose bumps down her back. She didn't think now was the time to confess to him that she was starting to like him as more than a friend. Once she had the necklace, she grabbed her sword and strapped it onto her back.

"Okay, let's go," Naruto declared. She nodded and they ran. They had almost reached the back door when a voice rang out.

"Nii Yugito, halt!"

XXXXXXX

Sasori's eyes narrowed as a lone figure suddenly began slicing through his puppets, moving in wide arcs. Sasori quickly connected the now loose strings to other puppets and launched a well coordinated attack at the man. He was stunned when the dark skinned man was able to stab and slash four different puppets at once. The effect was somewhat ruined when the man tripped and stumbled as he tried to land. He growled as he yanked six swords out of the now destroyed puppets. Sasori frowned when he recognized the man from the descriptions given to him by his spy in Kumo. This was the host of the Hachibi, and the younger brother of the Raikage's apprentice. It would be best for Sasori to leave now before the man decided to use his Biju's power. His strength as a puppet master was in his ability to kill his opponent by landing a single blow with any of his weapons, and Kirabi had avoided the attacks of four puppets without using the Hachibi's power. Sasori was not eager to lose more puppets to the jinchuriki.

He gave Kirabi a short bow, acknowledging the man's power, before quickly manipulating his chakra strings while pulling out a prepared scroll. He yanked a large number of corpses towards himself while opening the scroll, before he performed a set of hand signs and sealed the corpses into his scroll. He left his destroyed puppets, but he also pulled back the puppets that were still functioning and sealed those inside another scroll. He could see that the cloud ninjas were preparing an attack, so he ran, switching puppet bodies again once he was out of their line of sight.

_I hope you made it all right, Naruto_ Sasori thought as he fled Kumo. _I really wish I could have gotten another Sandaime Kage puppet thought. That'll have to wait until my next visit._ He suddenly thought about the possibility of having a Kage puppet from each village. The Yondaime Mizukage was a jinchuriki, so he would have to wait for the next Mizukage to be selected, but the other three villages had normal – if brilliant – shinobi as their Kages. And in any case, he was also brilliant, and he had the power of one Kage already. And the Hokage, Raikage, and Tsuchikage were getting old. _Hmm, now this is starting to sound like fun_.

XXXXXXX

Naruto and Yugito froze, then slowly turned around. An ANBU member wearing a skull mask was walking forward. Yugito mentally cursed her luck. _It would have to be Isamu No Nain Shin who caught me._ Out of all the members of Kumo's ANBU force, Isamu was one of the most feared. His nickname, 'Nain Shin', meant 'No Heart', and it was very fitting. The man had absolutely no moral qualms about what he did.

"Naruto-kun, run," Yugito said out of the corner of her mouth.

"What?"

"Run, I'll hold him off. I'll try to catch up to you once I'm done." Naruto shook his head.

"Thanks, but I'm not leaving you behind, Yugito-chan. I don't care about anyone other than you, so I won't just abandon you." She blushed slightly at his words.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Isamu stopped about ten feet away from them.

"Boy, who are you?"

"None of your business," Naruto retorted. "If you don't mind, we're in a bit of a hurry." He started turning to the door, and was unsurprised when Isamu threw a kunai past his head.

"Actually, I do mind. You are not a cloud ninja, therefore you must be a foreigner. As such, I am placing you under arrest for infiltrating ANBU headquarters." Naruto sighed.

"And here I was hoping we could be friends," He replied in a mock sad voice. In one fluid motion, he pulled a kunai out of his holster and threw it at Isamu. The man ducked under it easily, but as it neared him the exploding tag wrapped around the handle began to smoke. He jumped backward and threw up his hands, but he wasn't quite fast enough. It went off less than a foot away from him, severely burning his hands and throwing him backward against a wall. "Come on!" Naruto cried. He and Yugito ran, not daring to look back.

Uchiha Lord: I've hit a writer's block with my story, so I wrote some more on my fanfictions. I hope you enjoy it!


	3. Of Waves and Sand

They were lucky; no one came after them for several hours. Yugito picked up the scent of one of Kumo's hunter nins, in addition to the scents of three other ANBU members that she knew. She immediately informed Naruto of this.

"Okay, time to start setting the stage," Naruto announced calmly. With that, he took out his scroll and unsealed another scroll from it. From that scroll he unsealed a large amount of kunai, ninja wire, and other items. He had practiced setting up traps in a mountainous area, so he quickly found spots to hide some kunai traps. "I've never gone up against ANBU before, so we need to take them by surprise as much as we can," He told her.

XXXXXXX

The four ANBU members looked down into the small crevice. At the bottom, the leader could see Yugito and the blond boy laying on the ground in awkward positions. The boy's bag was open and some of the scrolls in it had spilled onto the ground.

"It looks like they fell into the crevice by mistake," he concluded. The other three nodded their agreement. "All right, you three wait here, I'll go get them and bring them back up." He jumped down into the gap, aiming to land right behind the two children.

He never even noticed the trip wire.

KABOOM!

His three comrades watched in shock as an explosion went off right where their captain had been. After a few moments, the smoke cleared enough for them to see to the bottom again. Naruto and Yugito were on their feet, looking at the charred and partially destroyed body of their captain.

"Only one of them?" Naruto wondered. "That's kind of annoying."

"Damn you!" Kira yelled in anger. He wove a quick set of hand signs then held out one hand towards the children. A bolt of lightning shot out of his palm, headed for Naruto. The boy's eyes widened in surprise, but he was too slow to avoid it. The lightning bolt hit him head on, and another explosion struck, blowing away the two Jinchuriki.

"Hey, we were supposed to apprehend them, not kill them!" Ikkaku snapped angrily at Kira.

"Yeah, well-" Kira suddenly stopped talking as a cloud of smoke appeared between them. Ikkaku heard a gurgling cry as he and Renji leapt away from the smoke. It cleared quickly to reveal Naruto standing over a dead Kira, whose throat had been cut open.

"Bunshins!" Renji exclaimed angrily.

"That's right," Naruto confirmed as he began to weave hand signs. Ikkaku and Renji readied themselves for a jutsu. They were taken by surprise when Naruto and Ikkaku both vanished in a puff of smoke. Renji instantly realized what was going on, so when Naruto reappeared where Ikkaku had been, Renji easily blocked his punch and grabbed his wrist. Lightning shot out of his arm and flowed through Naruto's body, electrocuting him.

Naruto vanished in another puff of smoke.

"No way!" Renji exclaimed. "He was a Kage Bunshin!"

"Kira was our tracker," Ikkaku pointed out. "I know I won't be able to find them. Can you?"

"Probably not," Renji admitted. "I'm a combat specialist, not a tracker." Ikkaku swore loudly.

"All right, we'll return to Kumo and report what's happened. Raikage-sama _has_ to know how dangerous they are so we can capture them." Renji nodded in agreement.

XXXXXXX

Naruto waited until the two shinobi left to breathe a sigh of relief. He ducked back into the small cave Yugito had found and grinned at her.

"It worked!" He told her ecstatically. Yugito laughed and hugged him happily. He hugged her back, smiling. They broke apart after a few moments.

"So, where do we go from here?" She asked him.

"I figured we could go to Wave Country," he told her. "It's kind of close to Fire Country, but we can always run away on a boat if we need to."

"Okay, that sounds good to me," she decided.

XXXXXXX

Six months later

"Hey, Kaiza!" Naruto spoke up during lunch. The dark-haired man looked over at him and smiled.

"What is it, Naruto?"

"Can you teach me how to fish?" The blond-haired boy asked.

"Of course. I was planning on going fishing later today, you can come too."

"Can I come too, daddy?" Inari asked.

"Sure, we'll make it a party," Kaiza said happily. "Do you want to come, Tazuna?" He asked the old man.

"No thanks, I just went fishing yesterday with Giichi," Tazuna declined. "Besides, someone has to stay and keep Tsunami company." Kaiza nodded in agreement; they all already knew that Yugito was coming, since Naruto was. The girl had a real appetite for fish too.

XXXXXXXX

Three months later

Naruto and Yugito sat on the dock, watching the sunset. Yugito had her head on Naruto's shoulder and one arm around him. Naruto also had an arm wrapped around her. He glanced down at her peaceful face and smiled happily. Whenever she was happy, so was he.

"Naruto-kun," Yugito said softly.

"Yes?" he spoke just as quietly.

"Will you look at me for a moment?" she asked. He turned his head to look fully at her. She lifted her head off his shoulder and smiled at him.

"What is it?" he wondered.

"I just wanted to do this," she whispered. With that said, she leaned forward and kissed him. She pulled back after just a couple of seconds and looked at him hesitantly. He was gazing at her in stunned silence. "Naruto-kun?" she asked cautiously. He blinked, then seemed to come out of his daze.

"Yugito-chan," he trailed off.

"What?" she asked, a slight trace of worry in her voice. She was taken aback when he leaned forward and kissed her back. She returned his kiss eagerly, and for a few minutes they passionately made out in front of the fading sunset.

XXXXXXX

Tsunami and Kaiza smiled as they watched the two young shinobi kissing.

"It sure took her long enough," Kaiza muttered. "I thought we would have to just spell it out for Naruto so they would get together."

"That's not very nice," Tsunami reprimanded him. "She had to tell him herself."

"I guess so," he shrugged. "Looks like whatever she said worked though."

XXXXXXX

Two months later

"Hey, careful Inari!" Naruto warned the boy. Inari glanced at him, embarrassed.

"Sorry, nii-san," he apologized. He moved back a little bit from the edge of the pier and watched Kaiza's boat going farther out.

"You really want to be with them, don't you Inari-kun?" Yugito asked. Inari nodded.

"Yeah, I want to help this village like my daddy has!" he said with a big goofy grin.

"I'm sure you will, someday," Naruto told him, grinning back. "And if you're really lucky, you'll even get a great girl like Yugito-chan to fall in love with you." Inari made a face.

"I still don't get what the big deal about girls is," he muttered. Naruto chuckled.

"It took me a while too. You'll understand, eventually," he assured him.

XXXXXXX

Four months later

"Oh, crap!" Naruto yelled. Everyone else at the breakfast table jumped and looked at him in surprise.

"What does it say?" Tsunami asked, pointing at the letter Naruto was reading. Yugito peered over his shoulder at it and gasped.

"Kumo's found us," Naruto explained. "And now they're sending hunter ninjas to come get us. My spy there found out and sent this as soon as possible, but they left yesterday."

"You have to leave as soon as possible then," Kaiza declared. "I'll help you get all your stuff together and you can escape on a boat."

"Wouldn't they expect that though?" Tazuna asked. "I mean, Naruto's been living here for more than a year, taking a boat is the first thing he would think of doing, so the boats are the first thing they'll check out when they arrive."

"We can let them use a private boat and not record that it left," Kaiza offered.

"That would probably work," Tazuna agreed. "Let's get to work. I'll start asking around to see if anyone has a boat they can do without. Kaiza, Tsunami, you two help them pack."

"All right," Tsunami stood up and hurried upstairs. "Come on you two, let's go!" She called over her shoulder.

XXXXXXX

An hour later, all six of them were at the docks. Kaiza and Tazuna were getting the boat ready to go while Naruto and Yugito were saying their goodbyes.

"You are going to come back someday, aren't you?" Tsunami asked.

"Of course we are, this is the best place I've ever stayed!" Naruto said, hugging her fondly. Yugito embraced Inari.

"Nee-chan, why do you have to leave?" He asked tearfully.

"I'm sorry, Inari-kun. Naruto and I are being chased by some bad people, and we have to leave before they get here. I promise you we'll come back someday." She hugged him tightly, then let go and smiled at him. "Don't worry," she assured him. Naruto reached down and patted him on the head.

"She's right, we will come back to see you."

"You'd better, nii-san," Inari demanded. Naruto grinned.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done for us," Yugito said to Tsunami, standing up and hugging her. The woman hugged her back fondly.

"It was our pleasure dear," she told the girl. "You're like family to us now, we're happy to help you." Yugito's eyes suddenly became watery and she hugged Tsunami more tightly.

"Thank you," she choked out. "I-I've never had a family before." Tsunami patted her on the back gently.

"Well, you're my daughter and son now, and I'm very proud of you both." She reached out and pulled Naruto into their hug. Kaiza came up next to them after a few minutes, and cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but the boat is ready to go," he told them. Tsunami nodded as she let go. Naruto and Yugito let go regretfully and pulled back.

"Okay," Naruto said, wiping away his tears. "It's time to go. We'll come back as soon as possible, kaasan," he told Tsunami, smiling. He turned and walked onto the boat. Yugito smiled sadly and waved goodbye. Kaiza hugged Tsunami and ruffled Inari's hair fondly before following them onto the boat. He cast off as Tazuna raised the sails and turned the ship to catch the wind.

"We're going several miles north," Kaiza told them. "There's a beach that I've been to a few times and there's a cave that I sometimes have to camp out in, so I know you can hide in there. We'll leave as soon as possible, so it's up to you after that," he warned them.

"We'll take care of it," Naruto assured his surrogate father.

XXXXXXX

It only took them about two hours to get to the beach. Kaiza led Naruto and Yugito into the cave, then gave them each a quick hug goodbye.

"We probably won't be back for a year or two," Naruto told him. "You'll all be under suspicion by Kumo, so we can't come back until they're not monitoring you anymore."

"I understand," Kaiza said. "I look forward to seeing you again though." He smiled, and waved goodbye as he walked out of the cave.

XXXXXXX

Naruto took a bag of kindling out of his scrolls and Yugito set it on fire with one of her Katon jutsus. With a deep sigh, he took out a few rations bars and gave some to Yugito.

"We've gotten really accustomed to better food," Yugito muttered as she chewed the disgusting bar. "This is going to be annoying."

"Yep," Naruto agreed. They ate in silence, taking sips from water bottles. When they were done, it was dark outside. "Time to go to sleep," Naruto muttered, unrolling his scroll to find the sleeping bag.

"Um, Naruto-kun," Yugito said.

"Yeah?" He looked up at her curiously.

"Could we, ah, sleep together tonight?" She asked nervously. He blinked in surprise, then smiled and nodded.

"Sure, of course we can," he told her. He found the sleeping bags and took one out. He used a wind jutsu to put out the fire, then unzipped the sleeping bag and got into it. With only a moment's hesitation, Yugito slid in next to him. Naruto wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer so he could zip up the sleeping bag. He chuckled slightly.

"I can hear your heartbeat, Yugito-chan," he said teasingly. She blushed.

"So?"

"So you seem really excited." She blushed deeper, but before she could reply, Naruto kissed her. "So am I," he whispered. He put both arms around her and closed his eyes. "But we do need to get some sleep," he added. She nodded and returned his embrace as she let herself drift off.

XXXXXXX

One year later

Naruto smirked as the four hunter nins landed in front of them.

"It's about time you got here," he told them. "I almost fell asleep." They all glared at him under their masks. "Now then, before you say anything, neither of us has any interest in going to a hidden village or being killed, so why don't we skip the boring talk and just kill you?" Next to him, Yugito chuckled.

"Don't listen to him," the leader said. "He's just trying to upset you." Naruto smirked again.

"You're kind of smart. Well, at least you're a little smarter than those other fools." One of the 'other fools' growled and slid into a combat stance.

"I said don't listen to him!" The leader barked.

"In any case, all of this talking is wasting time," Naruto said. "So say your prayers, cause you're about to meet a Shinigami."

Shunk!

All four hunter nins felt their eyes widen in shock as they heard the unmistakable sound of a blade stabbing through armor and flesh. They spun around to see a second Yugito with her sword impaled through one of the hunter's hearts. She quickly yanked it out and jumped away from the retaliatory barrage of shuriken and kunai.

"How the hell did you hide your chakra signature so well?" the leader growled at her.

"Easy, I just used this." She held up her left arm to show a metal bracelet on her wrist. The three remaining hunters could see that there was some kind of seal carved into it. "It prevents my chakra from leaving my body. Of course, I can't use jutsu while I'm wearing it, but it's a fair trade-off for killing one of you." With that, she snapped open the clasp and tossed the bracelet aside. The leader spun around as he heard a noise and saw Naruto charging at him with a kunai in each hand. He leaped forward and demonstrated remarkable agility in avoiding both kunai stabs and then kneeing him in the gut. He was unsurprised to see the boy vanish in a puff of smoke. The Yugito that he'd seen earlier had already vanished.

"Back to back!" he yelled. He and his two subordinates backed up against each other, to make sure they wouldn't be surprised. "The boy's probably got one of those seals too. Don't let your guard down."

"Kind of foolish, if you ask me," Naruto said, coming out from behind a tree and removing his own bracelet. "I mean, yeah, you won't be caught by surprise, but now you can't run." He made a hand sign and four Kage Bunshins appeared in a puff of smoke and spread out, surrounding the hunter nins before they could react. On the other side of the clearing, Yugito was momentarily surrounded by blue flame-like chakra. "Fuuton!" All five Naruto announced at once as they began weaving hand signs.

"Katon!" Yugito announced as she made a tiger sign. All three hunter nins began quickly weaving hand signs.

"Renkudan!"(Drilling Air Bullet)

"Kaiten Shuriken!"(Rotating Shuriken)

"Daitoppa!"(Great Breakthrough)

"Shinkugokyu!"(Vacuum Sphere)

"Reppusho!"(Violent Wind Palm)

"Hibashiri!"(Running Fire)

As the five Narutos charged up their attacks for a moment, a stream of blue fire came out of Yugito's mouth and formed a circle around the hunters. All three hunters finished their techniques at the same time, and two circular walls of earth rose up around them, along with a wall of water on the outside.

Then, the five separate wind attacks were unleashed at the same time. A spinning ball of wind, shuriken covered in wind chakra, a focused blast of wind, small spheres of wind chakra, and a kunai powered by a concentrated blast of air all hit the circle of fire. The fire seemingly joined with the wind jutsu, making them all far stronger, so that all five busted through the water wall with ease. The first earth wall crumbled as if it were just dirt, but the second one stood its ground against the Daitoppa and Reppusho attacks. The Shinkugokyu broke the wall but was too weak to do any more, whereas the Renkudan and Kaiten Shuriken techniques broke through the wall and struck their enemies. One of the hunters screamed in agony as his left arm was almost completely severed. Another one was struck by the Renkudan and blasted backward into the remains of the earth wall, knocking him unconscious. The leader managed to avoid the shuriken and his subordinate's flying body.

"Dammit, I thought I could get you all with that," Naruto complained.

"Doton: Doryuso!" Naruto and Yugito felt a massive spike of chakra underground and leaped into the trees just in time to avoid the dozens of stone spears that erupted beneath them.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" Naruto unleashed another blast of wind, but the hunter used the stone spears to hide behind.

"I'll take care of it," Yugito said.

"Be careful, Yugito-chan."

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun," the girl kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be fine." She jumped down and landed on a spear as blue fire poured out of her seal and covered her in a catlike shroud, complete with a tail.

"Katon: Gokakyu No Jutsu!" She yelled, making a few hand signs. A globe of blue fire twice as big as her erupted from her mouth and rushed forward. The heat it gave off was so intense that dry leaves began to catch on fire. The hunter desperately attempted to perform a defensive jutsu, but the fire struck him before he could finish. He let out a single yell of pure agony, then died. Naruto jumped down as Yugito repressed the Nibi's chakra. In just seconds it was all gone. Naruto embraced her happily and she returned the hug.

"I'm glad," Naruto whispered.

"Glad about what?" Yugito asked, still hugging him.

"Well, everything," Naruto began. "Everything in my life is going great for once. I'm not tied down by Konoha, I'm strong enough to take care of myself, and I have you with me. Really, I have everything I could ask for." He leaned up to kiss her on the lips. They kissed each for several long moments before breaking apart. Yugito hugged Naruto to her tightly.

"I feel the same way, Naruto-kun," she told him.

XXXXXXX

One year later(A/N: Naruto is eleven and a half years old, Yugito is twelve and a half)

Naruto and Yugito were in River country, staying in a hotel for once. Even though they were far too young to get a room normally, all it took was a simple Henge for them to appear to be adults. At the moment, they were making out on the bed. Yugito was laying on top of Naruto, her tongue down in his mouth as she gently rubbed her hands over Naruto's chest, which was quite muscular for an eleven year old. Naruto's hands were running up and down Yugito's back, pulling her as close as possible to him.

Eventually, Yugito broke the kiss off. Naruto wrapped his arms around her and she lay down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder as she put her arms around him.

"I love you so much, Yugito-chan," Naruto told her. He kissed her cheek gently.

"I love you too, Naruto-kun," she whispered, returning the kiss. They lay there for a few minutes before Naruto spoke again.

"We'll start heading across the desert tomorrow," he stated.

"Yeah," Yugito agreed.

"I wonder what this Gaara kid is like," he murmured.

"The stories don't make him sound as nice as you or I are," Yugito pointed out.

"True, but most people don't like Jinchuriki. I wouldn't be surprised if people have exaggerated how terrible he is."

"Same here," she mumbled as she closed her eyes. Naruto reached down and pulled the blanket over them both.

"We'll find out in a few days," he said as he closed his own eyes.

They drifted off to sleep holding each other.

XXXXXXX

Two days later, Naruto wasn't in such a good mood. He and Yugito had gotten into Suna with no trouble, thanks to the forged orders from the Wind Daimyo. They had also had no trouble finding the Kazekage's mansion and getting to talk to his son, Gaara.

Then they had found out that people had, if anything, understated how bad Gaara was.

"I love only myself and fight only for myself," he told them as he glared with cold eyes. "In doing so I achieve true strength. That is the way I live my life."

Naruto and Yugito shared a look. That one look communicated everything that needed to be said between them. Naruto turned back to Gaara.

"Gaara, you're a damn moron," he spat derisively. He was given the rare privilege of seeing a surprised Sabaku No Gaara. The cold blue eyes widened almost comically and he actually flinched back a little bit.

"What do you mean by that?" the red-haired Jinchuriki growled as soon as he'd recovered.

"I mean that it's absurd to think you can ever be truly strong by relying only on yourself. The only way to gain true strength is to trust others. You can never become really strong without the help of others."

"You are wrong, Uzumaki Naruto. You may think you have become strong because the two of you are together, but you could become far stronger if you were on your own."

"You're the one who's wrong, Gaara," Naruto snapped angrily. "If I left Yugito-chan I would be nothing."

"You say that because you love her," Gaara stated. "Love is nothing but a weakness. It makes you vulnerable to others and to your enemies. I love no one, so I have no such weakness."

"Shut your mouth, teme!" Naruto was shaking with anger. How dare Gaara call Yugito a weakness? "Don't you ever say crap like that again, you asshole!"

"You have no right to tell me what I can do," Gaara snarled.

"You don't have the right to call Yugito-chan a weakness!" Naruto retorted.

"You're only proving my point. I wasn't even trying to insult her and yet you're letting your emotions get control of you."

"Gaara, what happened to you?" Yugito asked.

"What do you mean by that?" the redhead asked irritably.

"People aren't just born thinking like you are. Something must have happened to you to make you believe that love is a weakness. What was it?" the boy locked eyes with her and they stared at each other for several long moments. Finally, Gaara spoke, using a much different tone of voice than he had used earlier.

"When I was six, I thought the same way you did," he began. "I thought that friends were important, and that having them would make my life better. But everyone was afraid of me, and they never let me play games with them. Even my own father and my brother and sister avoided me. The only person who cared about me was uncle Yashamaru. I believed he really did love me. He would tell me about my mother, his older sister. She had been sacrificed to seal the Shukaku inside of me when I was born. He told me what a kind and wonderful person she had been. He looked after me, and when I was unable to control the sand, he would stop me and make sure I didn't hurt other people. I truly loved him." His voice trailed off and he looked to be lost in thought. His cold eyes had become quite sad as he spoke.

"So what happened to him?" Naruto wondered when Gaara had been silent for several minutes.

"One day, I tried to play games with some of the other children. As soon as I approached them, however, they ran away from me. I called out for them to stop and told them that I just wanted to play with them. But I accidentally attacked them with the sand. Uncle Yashamaru stopped the sand before it got out of control. He took me home, and later talked to me about my mother. After we had talked, I thought I truly understood what it meant to love people. Yashamaru gave me a jar of wound ointment and I tried to give it to the boy I had accidentally hurt earlier. But as soon as I opened the door he told me to leave, because I was a monster. When I was alone that night, I was attacked by surprise. The sand protected me, and I attacked the ninja who had tried to kill me, and fatally injured him in return. Then, when I took off the cloth he had worn over his face, I saw that it was Yashamaru." Naruto and Yugito both felt sick.

"Your uncle tried to kill you?" Naruto whispered, imagining what it would have been like if the Hokage had attacked him.

"But it must have been under orders," Yugito protested.

"That's what I thought, but Yashamaru told me that he had willingly accepted the assignment to kill me. He admitted that he had never truly loved me, but that he had merely pretended to for the sake of his older sister. He said that my name, Gaara, was given to me by my mother to spite the village, and that he believed even she had never loved me. When he was finished, he detonated a number of explosive notes strapped to his chest. The sand protected me again, and from that moment on I chose to never love anyone ever again."

A stunned silence met his words, and stayed there for several long seconds. Eventually, Naruto broke it.

"I think it's terrible that that happened to you, but refusing to love anyone else is cowardly." Gaara's eyes became cold and hard again as he glared at Naruto.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You don't want to take the chance of loving someone and then having it backfire on you. I understand why, seeing what happened with Yashamaru, but if you aren't willing to open up your heart to anyone else, you'll go through life lonely and miserable, and that's something no human being should have to endure. I don't want that to happen to you Gaara. We're both Jinchuriki, and I know firsthand how cruel a village can be to us. What happened to you could have just as easily happened to me, but I was lucky enough to have someone who cared about me, even while I was in Konoha. When I found out about the Kyuubi, I decided that one person's kindness didn't make up for the whole village's hatred, so I left. Since then, I've met Yugito-chan and Sasori-san, and I've learned what it means to put others ahead of yourself."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Gaara growled angrily. An odd feeling was rising in him, and part of him wondered if it was jealousy.

"You haven't had that. You don't have any friends. I want to change that Gaara. I want to be your friend so you can learn what it's like to have a precious person. I was alone for almost a whole year before I met Yugito-chan. I wasn't doing anything at the time, I was just existing. I traveled to different villages, lay false trails for the hunter nin, and made sure I wasn't recognized as a Jinchuriki. But I had no purpose, I was living for the sake of living. If I had kept going like that much longer, I would have snapped and probably killed myself or else a whole lot of other people."

"That is how I felt too," Gaara told him. "I decided that my purpose in life is to kill all humans other than myself. Killing others makes me feel more alive than anything else."

"Well I met Yugito-chan," Naruto said. "And I decided that my purpose in life was to be her friend. I spent time with her and we talked to each other about everything. I actually looked forward to waking up, because I would get to go and see her. When I had to leave Kumo, she came with me and we worked together to stay alive, but for each other's sake rather than our own. She is my reason for living, she's the reason I haven't died yet or gone on a mindless killing spree."

"I do not agree with you," Gaara intoned. "I refuse to believe that trusting others can give one strength." Naruto sighed heavily and looked to Yugito. She nodded once and they turned back to Gaara.

"All right. If you won't change your mind, we'll have to change it the hard way," he stated. Before Gaara could say anything, red chakra surrounded Naruto and fiery blue chakra surrounded Yugito. They dashed forward at the same time and each threw a punch directly at his face. Sand shot out of his gourd and blocked their punches, but the shield cracked under the force of the blows. The two of them jumped back and watched him warily.

"If you want to fight, you only needed to ask," Gaara told them as sand poured out of his gourd and hovered around him.

"Gee, thanks," Naruto remarked. He suddenly shot forward even faster. The sand moved as well, but it was too slow. Naruto's fist slammed into Gaara's stomach and sent him flying backward into the wall. Before he could counterattack, Yugito seemed to materialize in front of him and performed a perfect spinning kick that knocked him through the wall, bringing down a good portion of the wall itself.

"What the hell is going on here!"

All three of them turned around to see a boy with face paint and a strange black outfit standing in the doorway, staring at the three of them with shock and horror written all over his face.

"Sorry about this," Naruto apologized. "But it seems logic and reason doesn't mean anything to your little brother. So we're having to beat some sense into him."

"You should probably leave before you get yourself killed," Yugito added.

"Die!" Gaara yelled, sending his sand forward in two streams to try and catch them while they were distracted. Naruto and Yugito both dodged and moved away from him.

"Gaara, don't –" Kankuro began to say something before Gaara cut him off, screaming loudly.

"SHUT UP KANKURO, AND GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I TEAR YOU APART!" The boy paled and ran, calling out to the other inhabitants of the house to leave.

XXXXXXX

Five minutes later, most of the ninja in Suna were watching the most dangerous battle they had ever seen. The Kazekage's mansion had been demolished in the first few minutes, and the fighters had taken to the streets. Naruto and Yugito were both surrounded by a solid cloak of chakra, Naruto's red in the shape of a fox and Yugito's fiery blue in the shape of a cat. Gaara's left arm was covered in sand that had taken on the appearance of Shukaku's arm, and the sand demon's tail had formed as well. His left eye was yellow and the pupil was diamond shaped. He was breathing heavily, bleeding out of his right arm, and unleashing enough killer intent to make most Chunin feel sick.

Naruto and Yugito, by comparison, were breathing a little heavily but feeling just fine.

"How can this be!" Gaara shrieked at them. "How can you be so much stronger than me!"

"Idiot," Naruto spat. "Use your eyes and figure it out for yourself."

"Shut up, Uzumaki Naruto!" Gaara launched himself forward as the sand wrapped around his right arm and upper torso. He struck at both of them, but Naruto caught both of his fists with his chakra cloak as Yugito leaped over him to deliver an axe kick to the top of Gaara's head, knocking him to the ground. They both backed away as Gaara rose shakily to his feet. He now looked almost entirely like Shukaku.

In his mind, Gaara was going crazy. It just didn't make sense to him. He'd used more of Shukaku's chakra than ever before, and yet he couldn't even land a solid blow on either one of them. Every time he attacked, Naruto would block his attack while Yugito counterattacked. Even when he was attacking Yugito, Naruto would stop him. And there was never any hesitation from either of them. Yugito never made a move to try to block his attacks, and Naruto never attempted to attack Gaara while Gaara was attacking them.

"I will not lose to you," he growled. "You will both die!" He lifted his arms up and sand rose above him in a huge cloud. He unleashed it at them as a huge wave, hoping to be able to catch and crush them.

An arm of red chakra shot out from Naruto and latched onto a tall building while Yugito launched a huge ball of blue fire at Gaara. A moment later, Naruto grabbed her and the chakra arm retracted, pulling them both away from the sand and to the top of the building. Gaara crossed his arms in front of himself to block the fireball, and the sand wave smashed down on nothing but bare street. Gaara, meanwhile, howled in pain as the heat of the fireball reached him even through the sand armor. When the jutsu died down, his arms had turned to glass. He angrily used the sand to tear off the outer layer of glass and then reform the arms of Shukaku.

"Come on Gaara, how long is it gonna take for you to admit that we're right?" Naruto asked him.

"Shut up! You cannot be right, I know I am right!"

"Gaara, in case you hadn't noticed, you're getting your ass kicked right now. And we've hardly had to use any jutsu."

"I can still kill you!" He howled in rage as he jumped up at them. They both sprang forward to meet him, only this time Naruto attacked, extending the arms of his chakra cloak to punch Gaara in the face without getting too close. Yugito raised both hands over her heard, laced her fingers together, and brought her fists down on Gaara's head. At the same time, he tried to attack her with his claws, but Naruto's tail wrapped around Yugito and blocked the attack. Gaara was struck head on and smashed into the earth like a meteor. Naruto and Yugito landed on the ground in front of him as he pulled himself up.

"Gaara, we don't want to keep fighting you," Naruto told him. "We just wanted to prove our point to you, that cutting yourself off from people will only hurt you."

"You are wrong," Gaara growled. "I am strong. I trust no one!"

"You're strong, but not strong enough," Yugito said. "Naruto and I trust each other, and we're much stronger than we would be otherwise. We're not even fighting to kill, and we're beating you. You keep on attacking us over and over, but nothing is changing. You can't beat us, no matter what you try."

"I can!" Gaara yelled. "I have always been strong enough! I won't lose to the two of you!" He was caught by surprise when Naruto punched him in the gut, hard enough to crack the sand armor.

"Gaara, stop being a moron. You can't beat us no matter what you try! You aren't strong enough to beat us because you're only fighting for your own selfish ideals. You say your purpose in life is to kill everyone else? Well guess what? You're getting your ass handed to you by two people who don't even want to hurt you!"

"I have not used my full strength yet," Gaara growled. "I can still kill you!" Without warning, sand blasted into the air, forcing Naruto and Yugito to jump away from him. They ran down the street as sand continued gathering around Gaara. When the rumbling stopped, they found themselves staring at the full form of Shukaku.

"This is just annoying," Naruto muttered. "I'll go for his left leg, you take out his right. Then we'll attack his head."

"Sound good to me," Yugito agreed. The two of them ran forward.

XXXXXXX

That night, Naruto was in an even worse mood, as he found himself in a cell with shackles and chakra suppression seals. Yugito was in the cell across from his, and he could tell she was really ticked off.

"I guess we could have been more conservative with our chakra," Naruto offered, several hours too late.

"Well, we needed to prove our point," Yugito added.

"Except for the whole imprisonment thing," He pointed out. "That sort of screws up everything else, don't you think so?"

"Do you have to be so pessimistic? We might still have a chance to escape."

"Get real," their guard told them. "You'll be delivered to the Raikage and Hokage, and that's it. There's no way out." Naruto was about to retort when they all heard a door open down the hall. Their guard turned around. "Who's there?" he called out. Without warning, a stream of sand shot down the hallway and struck the guard in the chest, carrying him all the way down the hallway until he slammed into the wall in the back.

"Sabaku Kyu," A calm voice intoned. A second later, blood flew into the air as the guard was crushed.

Gaara walked out of the shadows as he approached his fellow Jinchuriki.

A/N: I got some inspiration for this story, and since I haven't gone to my writer's group for weeks, I'm stuck on my novels. Hope you enjoy it!

Also, about the bit with Naruto and Yugito in the hotel room, I think that if they have no company other than each other for such a long time, they would get pretty close. In more ways than one. However, they will not do "it" for some time. It will probably happen when they're both fifteen.


End file.
